End-user and Subscriber Service Charter

[17 November 2017] ICASA has published a second round of draft amendments to the End-user and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations 2016 for public comment, accompanied by an explanatory note setting out changes made and the reasons therefore.

Submissions are due by 16h00 on 3 January 2018 (smh…). These may be sent to prioritymarkets2017@icasa.org.za for the attention the Chairperson: Priority Markets and Data Services Committee. ICASA plans to hold public hearings on the matter from 7 – 9 February 2018 and aims to promulgate final regulations by 31 March 2017.

The second draft follows the publication of a first draft amendment on 7 August 2017, with ICASA deciding to publish the second draft based on comments received. An accompanying media release notes the following “key interventions”:

Expiry of data – all licensees are required to provide prepaid data bundles with minimum expiry period of three (3) years, save where such prepaid data bundles have been exhausted prior to the expiry of three (3) years.

Out of bundle billing – licensees are required to send usage notifications for data depletion to end-users, and the intervals must show 50%, 75%, 90% and 100% service depletion. The notification must be through an SMS, push notification or any other applicable means.

Rollover of unused minutes and/or data – where a network provider is required to provide an option to post-paid users to roll over unused monthly data allocation to the next billing period or to transfer the monthly data allocation or a portion thereof to another end-user on the same network.

End-users must be given an option to opt-in or opt-out of being charged out of bundle data rates to avoid bill shock.

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[8 August 2017] ICASA has published draft amendments to the End-user and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations 2016. These amendments are generally pro-consumer and seek to make the following changes to current practices:

Voice and SMS services: Notifications of service depletion to be sent to the end-user at set intervals and provision for end-users on post-paid / hybrid plans to purchase additional services upon such depletion.

Data services: Notifications of service depletion to be sent to the end-user at set intervals and provision for end-users to opt-in or out of out-of-bundle charges. The expiry of data bundles is to be linked to the bundle size, from 10 days for 1-50 MB (less than the current norm of 30 days) to 24 months for 20 GB and up as well as allowance for the roll-over of unused data when an end-user recharges prior to the expiry date.

Consumer awareness: Quarterly campaigns to be conducted by licensees seeking to educate end-users on the use of smart phones, use of data and provision of information on the broad range of products and services offered.

The most significant effects of the proposed changes are the elimination of unexpected out-of-bundle data charges and improvements to the validity periods of purchased data bundles, two issues that have proven quite bothersome to the average consumer.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the draft Regulations and can be directed to Mr Gumani Malebusha (gmalebusha@icasa.org.za) by 16h00 on 19 September 2017.

The new closing date for submissions is 16h00 on Wednesday 2 December 2015.

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[9 October 2015] ICASA have picked this process up again, publishing another draft set of regulations incorporating feedback received from the written submissions received and workshop conduct in July last year.

ICASA has invited interested parties to submit written comments on the draft. These may be submitted to Mr Gumani Malebusha (gmalebusha@icasa.org.za / enduser@icasa.org.za /tel 011 566 3423) by 16h00 on 20 November 2015.

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[14 July 2014] ICASA have decided to forego public hearings in favour of a workshop with interested stakeholders on the basis that this “is likely to better achieve the objectives of effective consumer protection”. The workshop is scheduled for 09h30 to 16h00 on Wednesday 23 July 2014 and will be held at ICASA (Block C).

ICASA has invited those attending to address these key areas in a 5-10 minute presentation:

what in your view would be the best way to address the regulation of quality of service in the existing licensing framework with network and service licences?

what methodology would you employ, including the parameters that ought to be addressed in your view?

If you intend to make a presentation you are required to notify Mr Gumani Malebusha, gmalebusha@icasa.org.za / 011 566 3243.

Below are links to various submissions made in response to the publication of the draft Regulations of February 2014.

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